toughest small cichlid

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cornbread_5

cornbread_5

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Apr 29, 2007
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I have a buttikoferi and you know how hard they are to get tankmates for. But from my exprience the smaller the cichlid, buttis have a tendeousy to leave smaller alone. So i was wondering what are the toughest and smaller cichlids. that are smart enough to hide and will hold the own. i have had cichlids but they would just not hide. I am talking about something like a convict, i know they are hardy and can handle there own .
 
yup i agree
jewel chiclids are the toughest small guys i have ever seen
but surely they would not hide and would challenge even big fishes though they may not have a chance
 
The first butti , i ever owned was ruled by a jewel cichlid when i first got it . the jewel keep him in line but as you know jewel do not get that big. so as my butti got bigger , he pummeled the jewel to near death and i had to relocate the jewel. but if i go jewel cichlid i will go Hemichromis frempongi. They seem to be from what i have read on them to be the most aggressive of the jewels.
 
i have seen some beastly FM's and anotherone is a salvini but i am not sure if they hide.
 
fm = firemouth. bad choice, all bluff no bite, won't be able to defend itself against a butti, regardless of how tough it thinks it is. Salvini = another bad choice, they're aggressive and like to pick fights. I'd go with some mbunas - auratus/chipokae/kenyii/elongatus should all work out provided they can hide. Just make sure they're a good deal smaller than the butti, they're alot faster and can take down the tilapia if they're of similar size (had this happen to me before, 7.5 inch butti in a 110g malawian setup got pummeled to death by a 6 inch chipokae).
 
Yeah, frempongis can give younger buttis a fierce battle, if not kill them. They are both capable killers, who knows who would get the upper hand. It's playing with fire mixing frempongis and buttis, chances are there will be casulties. Like a battle between an uzi and a flamethrower. They will both kill you.

My lone surviving frempongi out of six is in my avatar, they killed each other (and others) off.
 
Jewels are a good choice. You might also consider a nematopus neetropus. They will hold there own even with some of the biggest cichlids. They are also easy to breed.
 
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